Movie Reviews

"Goodnight... and may Gawd bless."

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 06/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After a successful radio run, the RED SKELTON SHOW premiered on NBC-TV in September of 1951. In its twenty-one years on television, the program underwent many changes: switching to the CBS network in 1954, broadcasting in color a few years after and finally expanding from 30 minutes to an hour in 1962. When taken off the air a decade later, Skelton was in the Top 20 programs nationwide. CBS was on a "youth" kick that season, and many equally popular perennials also got the axe, including THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW and THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES.

One thing remained constant about Red's show over the years-- his characters: hen-pecked George Appleby, Clem Kadiddlehopper (a country bumpkin), Sheriff Deadeye, Cauliflower McPugg (a punchy boxer), Gertrude and Heathcliff (the two seagulls), Junior (the Mean Widdle Kid), Willie Lump-Lump (a drunkard), San Fernando Red (a con man), and his most popular creation of all, Freddie the Freeloader. Freddie was a clown-faced tramp who originally never spoke. Skelton's amazing skill at pantomime was best demonstrated with this hapless hobo.

Red Skelton's brand of clean humor is sorely lacking in a cynical world where nastiness seems to rule the airwaves. He will never be forgotten by those who saw him on TV in the 1950s and 60s. The twenty-odd examples presented on RED SKELTON - AMERICA'S FAVORITE CLOWN span both his NBC and CBS years. It's a wonderfully nostalgic trip back to a more innocent time and place.

The shows are often edited. There are a few duplications here, and a narrated Skelton bio created from snippets of these programs-- a mediocre piece.